Share

Last modified on: April 17, 2019 at 9:44 am

Photo: Eddie Panta

Dueling photographs of a single Crosby Street stoop reveal a tale of two perspectives of life in SoHo. A sight that exposes the real need for City Planning to obtain “a 360-degree analysis that includes all points of view,” which it hopes to gain during review of the neighborhood’s zoning regulations.

Back in February, the SoHo Broadway Initiative, the local Business Improvement District, released a series of photographs on its website as part of a “Cleanup Report” on the effectiveness of its expansion of street cleaning services to include Crosby and Mercer Streets; an effort made possible by funds from Councilmember Margaret Chin’s office.

At first glance, the before and after shots simply illustrate the removal of boxes from a nondescript stoop. But for anyone who regularly passes Prince and Crosby Streets at night, the boxes obviously double as homeless shelters for at least three men who have been camping out in the freight entrance doorways since last November.

In brief interviews, we discovered that these men – likely in their mid-forties – are day-laborers. Spending nights in makeshift cardboard shelters, before seeking work at demolition sites or on restaurant cleanup crews by 6am. None appeared intoxicated in our encounters, and all were decently dressed.

Photo: Eddie Panta

This is not to suggest that SoHo Broadway Initiative is ambivalent to the plight of the homeless.

Business or Neighborhood Improvement Districts are about the beautification and promotion of their district’s retail outlets and community events, not to highlight any homeless crisis. Like the NoHo Neighborhood Improvement District, they have their own “Clean-Team” which sweeps the sidewalks, empties receptacles, and removes graffiti. But it does speak to the need of capturing a complete picture of the neighborhood as it pertains to the city’s community engagement plan for the future of SoHo.

The SoHo Broadway Initiative is one of 18 organizations serving on the advisory board for the Envision SoHo/NoHo Plan. With the slickest website, and by far the most comprehensive online guide to the current zoning regulation, the organization is composed of residents and business owners who have begun influencing the city’s planning process at the public meetings while maintaining anonymity. However, groups on the board have faced criticism for negotiating with the city behind closed doors and not having artists represented.

Photo: Eddie Panta

To date, it remains unclear whether these advisory bodies are willing to steer the city towards confronting its own contradictory policies and regulations that govern the streets and sidewalks of the historic neighborhoods.

City Planning, Councilmember Margret Chin, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer are asking the artist-in-residence community of SoHo to accept that the current live/work manufacturing zoning no longer reflects the reality of neighborhood. But the city is not exactly averse to hypocrisy when it comes to the rules and regulations of the streets.

As two new office complexes rise astride on Crosby and East Houston, so will the demand for delivery trucks. DOT performed a pedestrian survey in January as the buildings neared completion and the main subway entrance on Houston reopened. However, results from this important study haven’t been released during the public planning sessions to envision a future for SoHo. Despite what many considered antiquated and outdated zoning rules, development of commercial office and luxury rentals show no signs of slowing down.

Photo: Eddie Panta

By all accounts, Crosby Street has been an unmitigated disaster area, even before constructing began on the two developments. Its cobblestone street has long since been considered the worst in the historic district. Currently, the street is still being torn up for new waterlines to feed the developments.

The west side of Crosby Street, the traditional start of SoHo, or more specifically, the Cast Iron District, is the commercial traffic corridor connecting SoHo to NoHo and provides freight entrances for the big-box retail storefronts off Broadway. Yet, commercial parking is not allowed.

Each day, UPS, FED EX, and other delivery vehicles are routinely ticketed. With no other option to park, the tickets are simply considered a cost of doing business. These parking regulations yield thousands of dollars a day for the city, but don’t reflect retail districts’ constant need for deliveries and do little to decrease traffic, idling, or noise.

Police officers from the 5th Precinct’s “Build-the-Block” community meeting in March confirmed homelessness remains an issue in SoHo, although Crosby Street was not mentioned specifically. Normal protocol would be to assist the homeless to city shelters. But news reports as recent as a few weeks ago, have detailed violence against homeless men on both city streets and city shelters. The homeless who braved the winter on this narrow passageway find safety in numbers.

It remains to be seen, though, if the city is willing to face the contradictions of how its current parking regulations impact quality of life for residents. As for the most vulnerable – the city’s growing homeless population – every parking ticket placed on a delivery truck that has no option for legal parking could go toward a night of shelter for someone in need. Instead, the funds disappear back into the system, which creates more tickets on commercial vehicles, and whose boxes ultimately provide shelter.

Share

Tags

Streets

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay Connected:

Recent Stories

Spanish indie rock outfit Hinds drops their much anticipated third album today, The Prettiest Curse. Prior to the pandemic, I chatted with lead singer and guitarist Carlotta Cosails. An unabashed fan, my goal was to avoid becoming awkward fangirl, Mel, from Flight of the Conchords. A nearly impossible feat, as Hinds’ first two albums, Leave […]

You may have noticed the lack of trash cans on street corners around the Lower East Side this week. Vanished seemingly overnight. As a precaution this week, the city quietly removed receptacles from neighborhoods overwhelmingly hit by unrest and looting following the killing of George Floyd. It’s estimated that roughly 2,000 were temporarily towed citywide, […]

When New York City begins its reopening on Monday, SoHo will be boarded up as if for a hurricane, and the streets emptier than when the COVID-19 shutdown began. Signage of the luxury retailers has also been erased by the appearance of bare plywood, Black Lives Matter graffiti, or both. But the Museum of Ice […]

By the time this article is published, 11 weeks of self-isolation will have passed. It’s been 11 weeks since many of us have gone to work, since grocery stores have felt safe, and since handshakes have felt friendly. And those are only the most banal, everyday changes. When it comes to the moments we share […]

When the pandemic hit, it was mainly the luxury stores in SoHo that began boarding up the windows for fear of looting. It’s now a reality in the atmosphere following the controversial death of George Floyd, an African American man who died in Minneapolis police custody. For days, looters took to the streets, oftentimes piggybacking off […]

The rioting and violence has clouded (and overwhelmed) the national protest movement formed in response to the controversial death of George Floyd by Minneapolis cops last month. It’s what dominates the narrative now. And no neighborhood is immune. Chinatown was also hard hit by looters this week. Mom-and-pop shops Buy Rite Pharmacy (215 Grand Street) […]

A fifth night of protests spilled onto lower Orchard Street yesterday, as several businesses were vandalized. The Roasting Plant coffee shop, R&D (formerly Brigitte) on Canal street, and the Alexander Olch boutique, were all hit. Shattered windows and looting. It’s unclear what was taken from each store. With regard to Olch’s store, vandals tagged it […]

A weekend of violent protests and looting – fueled by the death of George Floyd at the hand of Minneapolis cops – left downtown Manhattan charred and shattered. Businesses in SoHo up to Union Square were some of the hardest hit. Boogie contributor Eddie Panta was eyewitness to the smash-and-grab bedlam. Part I: The Nike Store […]

Whenever an event of significance hits the news, neighbors can easily expect a new banner unfurled on the Delancey Street foot bridge over the FDR. Indeed, for the third time in as many months, a new message. “I can’t breathe,” a tribute to George Floyd, for whom these were final words. While being placed in […]

What lockdown? In Hell Square, it’s almost as if the last few months were in vain. Sunday afternoon saw an overflowing party for the opening Bel-Fries on Ludlow Street. It was seemingly planned for maximum marketing value, despite the COVID-19 lockdown. A “Miami style” event with luxury cars, deejay booth, professional photo rigs, and plenty […]

Advertisement

Advertisement

Bowery Boogie is the leading website covering the news and lifestyle of the Lower East Side neighborhood and its residents. It is known for keen wit and hard-hitting news coverage. Founded in 2008, Bowery Boogie is headquartered in New York City.